Presidents Message
Chicago State University College of Pharmacy Hooding Ceremony Address - GRIT

by Charlene Hope, PharmD, MS, BCPS, ICHP President

I had the honor of serving as the guest speaker at the
Chicago State University College of Pharmacy Hooding Ceremony a few weeks ago. After
several weeks of thinking about and hoping for a spark of a topic that would
inspire a graduating class of student pharmacists, the word GRIT kept popping
up in my head.

GRIT is defined as "perseverance and passion for
long-term goals". Individuals with a high amount of this characteristic
can maintain their determination and motivation over long periods despite
experiences with failure and adversity. Their passion and commitment towards
the long-term objective is the overriding factor that provides the stamina required
to "stay the course" amid challenges and setbacks.

This personal characteristic of grit is often used to
describe entrepreneurs and innovators or anyone really that is embarking on
something new, different and perhaps against the norm. GRIT is the armor one
needs if they are choosing to take the road less traveled.

Angela Lee Duckworth has popularized this term and
recommends how we can build and develop GRIT over time.

The first stage is to foster a passion.

Part of grit is actually doing enough exploration early on
and quitting enough things early on, so that you can find something with which
you are willing to stick. You have to actively put some work in and try things
– try them for a little while and get into them.

To me, fostering passion is to actively fight complacency
like the plague. Whether one is a newly minted pharmacist or on the launching
pad to retirement, it is so important to stay connected to the feelings that we
had when we decided to pursue the profession of pharmacy. To stay connected to
the feelings we had when we found out that we were accepted into pharmacy
school. To stay connected to those feelings that we had on the first day of
classes. Most importantly, to stay connected to how we felt the day we
graduated, like many of the graduates that I spoke to that afternoon.

It is too easy to let the pressures of life take over and
settle for a paycheck. To show up every day and punch a clock. Many of us, as
members of ICHP engage our passion by being active members of ICHP.

The second stage is practice.

While we graduate equipped with the knowledge, skills and
tools to do great things in our careers as pharmacists, we know that we are
committing ourselves to a profession based on lifelong learning. It is so
important, especially in our current era of rapid fire change – fueled by
technology and innovation – to continue to hone our skills. However, I wanted
to challenge the graduates and you, dear reader, to focus on doing all that you
can to “practice” building relationships as well – that is, connecting your
work to people who are not you. As pharmacists, we can become very insular and
choose to remain in silos waiting for others to ask for our help, to invite us
to be a part of a project impacting patient care or to direct us in how we
choose to participate as a member of the healthcare team. Those often
disrespected “soft skills” are the skills of the future. They are the
interpersonal skills of leadership, charisma, diligence and contribution. These
are skills that will really take you to the next level.

I am not sure why they are called soft skills, because it
takes hard work to develop and hone these skills over time. But at the end of
the day, they are at the heart of what we need today. Because even if you have
a pharmacy degree, residency training and numerous letters behind your name,
you are no help to us (patients, healthcare teams, society) without these human
skills, the things that we cannot write down or program a computer to do.

And the final component is hope.

There has to be hope, that your vision for the future will
come true.

“To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the
other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To
be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To
be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.” – Angela Lee Duckworth

I extend my wish to the CSU-COP Class of 2017, and to you my
fellow ICHP members. I wish that you will rise more times than you fall as you
continue your journey on the way to your dreams!